There are several common misconceptions about the No Child Left Behind Act, but perhaps the most significant one is that it creates a uniform set of standards for all of America's children. While standards are indeed the crux of the law, along with the requirement that schools test their students to see whether the standards are being met, the misconception is that there is any kind of uniformity within the standards for school aged youth. In other words, whether a child is scored as below basic, basic, proficient, or advanced in a subject like reading may have less to do with her aptitude in that subject area and more to do with her zip code.

The reason for this discrepancy is simple: NCLB charges each of the 50 states to set its own standards in core subject areas, and allows the states considerable leeway in interpreting how high--or low--to set their bars. A report released by the US Department of Education just last week underscores the severe inconsistency that has resulted from this state-by-state system of standard setting. It does so by comparing the scores that students need to hit proficiency standards in each of the 50 states against the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), so as to create a common benchmark for performance.

The findings are, in many cases, startling. For instance, in order to be measured as proficient in accordance with the state of Missouri's 8th grade math test, a student would need to earn a score equivalent to a 311 on the NAEP 8th grade math test. Less than a hundred miles away in Tennessee, however, a student can earn a proficient mark on the Tennesee 8th grade math test with a score that would be equal to only 230 on the NAEP test. In other words, most of the kids who are deemed "not proficient" in 8th grade math in Missouri would find themselves suddenly proficient if they head east on US 24 towards Nashville and cross the Tennessee border.

Similarly, while a Massachusetts fourth grader would need to earn a score equal to a 234 on the national 4th grade math test in order to meet the state-determined proficiency standard, a Mississippi fourth grader would be proficient in her state with a score of only 161 on her state's math test.

Ultimately, the differences between state standards were found to be on the magnitude of multiple grade levels, meaning that a 6th grade student measured as proficient in math according to the state of Mississippi would not be able to pass even the Massachusetts 4th grade test! Moreover, the states with the biggest gaps in their standards had differences that were found to be double the national achievement gap between minority and white students! Put another way: states with the lowest bars and lowest standards are actually expecting so little out of their students that even if those children succeed in school in accordance with what is asked of them, they will enter college woefully underprepared compared to their peers from other states. And the underpreparation will take place not because their K-12 schools were incapable of doing better, but rather because their schools were explicitly asked by the state not to shoot higher!

To be sure, the strategies that some are proposing to fix this situation are far from easy to implement, since they would most likely involve the creation of national standards for all children--an idea that is anathema to many who preach the importance of local control in schools. But we are stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one, and it will take a lot of political will and open-mindedness to make the right decision.